Ronaldo: "I want to go to Real Madrid"

[agricola]

We do send a few the other way mind; Henry, Van Nistlerooy, Viera, Beckham - all certainly top class players..

Indeed.. but apart from Ruud, and maybe Beckham in flashes, they were all disappointments.

 

[E.J.]

At long last Ronaldo says what's really on his mind....

Wouldn't suprise me that Real will offer Robinho, and possibly Sergio Ramos (one of the best right backs in the game) & Mahamodou Diarra (-i think The Corporation don't need him since they've got Hargreaves & Carrick in that midfield position)+ an in initial payment of ranging from £50-£75 million for the potential C.Ronaldo mega deal. But we'll see whether it happens after Euro 2008 or the end of next season - which i suspect will definetly happen.

 

[christonabike]

The cunt should put in a transfer request then, shouldn't he

But he won't

Twat

 

[g force]

Really don't think they'll sell Ramos - he's been their best player, esp as Metzelder was out injured. Robinho, Diarra would likely feature in a deal but I doubt Man U want Diarra and Robinho is yet to fulfil his potential. Maybe he could do that at United but I'm yet to be convined he isn't the new Denilson.

Maybe ole Heinze will come back!!!

Be better off asking for Robinho, Higuain and de la Red in exchnage as they're all young.

 

[tom_craggs]

Robinho - was 'the new Pele'...sorry just don't see it.

Diarra, wouldn't get in the team.

Only player I would want from Real is Ramos.

 

[gilroy]

I'd accept it if we could get Berbatov in return actually.

One lightning quick winger for another eh!!!!!

 

[ZAMB]

Isn't his girlfriend Spanish? Maybe a bit of pillow talk helped it along.

 

[Teaboy]

Of course we don't get The Best. For all the talk of the premier league being the best in the world, most of the good foreign players who come here are past their peak.

I take issue with this a bit. The Premier League is really powerful in the Champions league for years now, it's certainly not all that home grown talent alone making that happen.

 

[Biffo]

I wonder what Fergie thinks of this. He's taken on Real Madrid single handedly and played even the Franco card against them. He's said he will keep the player in the stands rather than sell him. Now Ronaldo himself says he wants to play for Real Madrid.

If Fergie's temper is still on a par with the RVN, Beckham and Stam incidents then he will just tell Ronaldo to fuck off and cash in on him. I think he's mellowed though. Would liek to see him on his knees begging Ronaldo to stay.

Utd are a bigger and better team than Real Madrid. On the face of it Ronaldo has made a mistake to say this publicly but the bottom line is that Madrid is a more desirable city for him than Manchester. Climate and language etc are important, especially at a younger age.

Adios greasy.

 

[Phenotypic Dai]

Something fishy about this.

 

[Wilf]

I thought the 'rot in the stands' comment was a mistake (though very funny if carried through - and I'm a united fan). Could provoke Ronaldo into actually going (as it may have done) or have a resentful moody player coming back over the Summer. Only made sense if they already knew he wasn't staying - come what may - and was really about ramping the price up. Suspect it was really Ferguson's temper and his inability to let anybody defy him.

 

[Dandred]

Is the girly man going from the scum or not?

 

[internetstalker]

we shalll see

i wont believe it until the deal is done

 

[Diamond]

From Ronaldo's point of view this move would make a lot of sense. There is essentially nothing left for him in the English game and I get the impression that he hasn't formed the sort of bond with United as a club that would trump his ambitions (I'm thinking of Shearer, Henry, Vieira, Gerrard, Lampard etc...) in this kind of situation. He'd be going to a very solid but unspectacular team where he could shine far brighter than he already does at United. Furthermore, it's Madrid. It's in Iberia. It's got to feel more like home than Manchester for someone like Ronaldo. On top of that the wages being talked about at the moment are astronomical. Who could turn down a 300k/week deal?

So from his point of view if he's ambitious, if he values money and glamour and if he wants to be a superstar then Madrid seems to be the only option.

From Madrid's point of view the only consideration is the cost. They don't give a flying fuck about their transfer market/tapping up reputation and if anything have already taken the moral high ground thanks to Fergie and Queiroz's hyperbolic statements. So the cost...Where are they going to find 150 million for the transfer, and where will they find the money to fund his wages. Those are self-defeating amounts of money.

Finally for United...they should definitely sell. 150 million is a massive amount of money and they have Nani and Manucho coming through.

So as far as I see it, it will definitely happen if Real can find the money.

 

[London_Calling]

Utd are a bigger and better team than Real Madrid. On the face of it Ronaldo has made a mistake to say this publicly but the bottom line is that Madrid is a more desirable city for him than Manchester. Climate and language etc are important, especially at a younger age.

Adios greasy.

Just a tad provincial, I feel. I've never known what "big team" means but I'd imagine if I grew up in Portugal the most important team in the world to be wouldn't be in Manchester, England.

Is part of a "big team" how much they're willing to spend on top players?

 

[Wilf]

Must admit, even though Ronaldo's a much more effective player, I felt sadder when Beckham left. Despite all the foolish sleb prattle that surrounds him, he was a committed red and had a feel for the place and fans. That one was down to Ferguson's meglamania. Ronaldo on the other hand won't be missed for anything other than his football. Can't say i've followed the tabloid stories about him (and yes, I know he wasn't prosecuted for that episode), but I get the impression his attitude to women wasn't that great either.

 

[sleaterkinney]

Ha Ha Ha.

 

[twistedAM]

Is revol on holiday or still drinking the Champions League victory? If it's the latter this might sober him up.

 

[friedaweed]

Ha Ha Ha.

My sentiments exactly

Be glad to see the back of the arrogant prick myself like

 

[stupid kid]

Finally for United...they should definitely sell. 150 million is a massive amount of money and they have Nani and Manucho coming through.

Where's the 150m figure coming from? So far the figure being talked up by Marca is €95m, that's over £70m at the current exchange rate. They could probably pick up Berbatov and Bentley for less than £35m in total, although I think that both of those players would take some adjusting to the style of football Man Utd play.

 

[Diamond]

Where's the 150m figure coming from? So far the figure being talked up by Marca is €95m, that's over £70m at the current exchange rate. They could probably pick up Berbatov and Bentley for less than £35m in total, although I think that both of those players would take some adjusting to the style of football Man Utd play.

150 million? I can't seem to find where I found that now. It might have been bbc 5live's valuation of a 100 million euro offer with Diarra/Robinho/Ramos thrown in as makeweights.

100 millions euros is clearly better value but probably tips the balance back in favour of not selling if Ronaldo has a brilliantly marketable euro2008 (strangely I still think he's nowhere near as marketable, or hasn't met the potential of his marketability, as other big players but I can't seem to pin down why).

Berbatov and Bentley would be perfect purchases for United and I reckon they could get both of them for under 50.

The one big problem with Ronaldo leaving is how the Tevez-Rooney-Ronaldo combination adapts to his absence. There's clearly no like-for-like replacement but if United could find a top notch proper centre forward, who are very thin on the ground these days, then they could recalibrate to make up for his loss. The thing is that they might already have that man in Manucho.

 

[SpookyFrank]

I hope he fucks off to spain, not least because it'll stop him hogging all the points in next season's fantasy football (last season I refused to buy him on principle and finished 30-somethingth in the u75 league )

 

[twistedAM]

Well United fans have been laughing at City's pantomine. Now they have to wait up to a month to find out if ladyboy is staying or not while Hughes goes ahead and spend idiot amounts of money.

 

[Deareg]

not quite in the same league as city

 

[steveo87]

Bugrit.

Why do all the really 'big' players want to play in Spain and Italy rather than the Premiership? Kaka, Ronaldinho, Zidane, (Brazillian) Ronaldo, Messi, etc... I thought the Premiership was ahead of the others in terms of wages, etc, so what's the draw?

Is it something to do with the style of play? I've got the impression that while the Premiership may be considered more exciting because of the pace of the game, football in Spain and Italy is seen as being more like 'proper' football (couldn't think of the word I actually wanted ).

Still, City are on the hunt for Ronaldinho...

e2a: oh, and why isn't this being reported anywhere else I know the Guardian piece says "exclusive", but I've always taken that to have a different meaning in papers that it does in the rest of the world.

Miss conception about the wages thing, the prem has the highest average wages in the world bu if you're a world class player who the big clubs want, then go to Spain.
Torres, for example, took a £20,000 pay cut, he's still on ninty grand a week but still.

 

[g force]

Lol at whoever said Man U were a bigger and better club than Real. Someone needs to read up on their history. Real also have far more passionate fans who do crazy things like sing songs and make a decent noise.

 

[steveo87]

Lol at whoever said Man U were a bigger and better club than Real. Someone needs to read up on their history. Real also have far more passionate fans who do crazy things like sing songs and make a decent noise.

And alsot of them are actually from Spain....

 

[twistedAM]

And alsot of them are actually from Spain....

But more people in ireland support United

 

[Biffo]

Lol at whoever said Man U were a bigger and better club than Real. Someone needs to read up on their history. Real also have far more passionate fans who do crazy things like sing songs and make a decent noise.

Me. I'm a Liverpool fan and historically they are a bigger and better club than Utd. The reality is that Utd have been on the up for the last 15 years, as Liverpool have waned. Until the Champions League win in 2005, Liverpool fans had been dining out on history for far too long. Madrid aren't the force they were. Last season they won a crap Spanish league and were shown to be mediocre in Europe. Again.

The Top 4 in England are pretty much the Top 4 in Europe at the moment. Utd are the best of that bunch. With the amount of money they are generating and spending on players, and the success on the pitch this produces, I stand by my original statement.

I'd rather make history than be it.

 

[Deareg]

Me. I'm a Liverpool fan and historically they are a bigger and better club than Utd. The reality is that Utd have been on the up for the last 15 years, as Liverpool have waned. Until the Champions League win in 2005, Liverpool fans had been dining out on history for far too long. Madrid aren't the force they were. Last season they won a crap Spanish league and were shown to be mediocre in Europe. Again.

The Top 4 in England are pretty much the Top 4 in Europe at the moment. Utd are the best of that bunch. With the amount of money they are generating and spending on players, and the success on the pitch this produces, I stand by my original statement.

I'd rather make history than be it.

can't agree with you on liverpools history being bigger than uniteds, if anything we had a bigger history, were more successful and were much more famous up until liverpools golden period from the 70's till the end of the 80's, agree with the rest of your post though